Thread by @iamwillcannon

36 pieces of advice for anyone looking to start a SaaS company

MEGATHREAD:

#1 Raising your prices is the simplest way to increase your revenue.

It's scary but worth it.

You think people will leave but most won't.

Do it.

#2 Don't obsess with churn in the early days.

You're just starting.

Worrying about churn early will prevent you from seeing what makes them churn.

#3 You don't need to be technical to build a multimillion-dollar SaaS.

I found my dev team (from Russia) on Upwork.

Many other BIG SaaS creators have done the same.

Tech skills not needed.

#4 Obsess over getting in front of customers.

Eyeballs on your website = money.

So, do everything you can to get more eyeballs.

Whatever it takes: producthunt, facebook ads, twitter personal brand, tiktok videos, etc.

#5 Don't hire someone to do sales for your SaaS.

As a founder, you should be doing ALL the sales until 250k ARR.

Then, hire the best one for the job and dedicate yourself to what you’re best at.

#6 You don't need VC funding to get a multimillion-dollar exit.

I own 100% of UpLead,

Which was recently valued at over $70M.

“Because ownership isn’t the important thing. If you want to be rich, it’s the only thing."

- Felix Dennis

#7 Talk to your first customers.

Learn from them:

>send them swag
>get a testimonial
>build that following
>find your unique selling proposition

I once heard about a marketer that didn't write a word of copy until he learned his prospects' route & talked to them on the bus.

That's a good way to be.

#8 Just start

Stop thinking about it.

You're never gonna have it all figured out right away...

And that's okay.

Worst case scenario?

You lose some money and time.

Best case scenario - you get the big win everyone dreams of.

#9 ABT (Always be testing)

This is key,

ESPECIALLY if you're in the SaaS game.

(but it applies to almost every business model)

Test everything:

>headlines
>subject lines
>pricing

...everything.

Make data-driven decisions.

#10 You don't need to spend a ton of money on a domain/website when you launch.

Spend your money on marketing and talking to potential customers...

That should be your focus.

Remember:

A good product with shitty marketing is a shitty product.

#11 The best marketing strategy when you're getting started is giving as much value as you can with no expectations in return.

Do this,

And you'll build a raving a loyal following for your startup.

Enough said.

#12 The advantage you have over your billion-dollar competitors is that you're nimble.

Fortune 500s go through 10 different departments to make a decision.

All you have to do is send an email.

Use that to your advantage

#13 Make your logo in Microsoft Paint or Canva.

You've heard it before:

A logo is the LAST thing on your to-do list when starting a business.

You don't need a $5k or even a $500 logo to get started.

Just start as fast as you can.

#14 Take a snap pic of your goals and put it as your iPhone background.

Do this & every time you check your phone?

You're gonna get reminded of your goals.

Beach? A contract? A penthouse?

Whatever it is,

Set it as your background.

Give yourself no option but to get it.

#15 When VCs and PE start hitting you up, once or twice a week, at that point you're a 'hot' commodity.

Then you can do what I do...

Which is don't reply at all.

You got something good & others want a piece of it.

Ignore them all & keep growing it.

#16 Best founders build for the sake of building.

They don't care what others think.

They're not thinking about selling the business or the financial win.

They're just building for the love of it...

And that's why they succeed.

#17 Name doesn't matter.

Uplead, LeadUp, UpLeads, UpUp, Leads Leads, whatever.

The name hardly matters - just start.

If the product and the market fits?

The name doesn't matter - just go.

Example:

Coca-Cola sounds like cocaine. But look at where they are now.

#18 Once you get one customer, it's done.

Once you get one, you feel you can get 10.

Once you get 10, you feel you can get a 100.

You only need one.

The sooner you understand this?

The sooner you'll win.

#19 Be open to new ideas

Don't be close-minded:

There's always a partnership or something that can happen.

>cold email
>influencers
>complimentary SaaS'es
>distribution channels in other companies

If you think you hit a dead end,

You're not paying attention.

#20 Investigate what buyers look for and optimize the hell out of it.

Churn, growth, recurring revenue...

One day you may want to sell it,

So build right from day one.

#21 You don't need to create the new idea - copy what works and add your little twist to it.

People have already figured out stuff.

People have already been through trials to get where they are.

Learn from that, copy it & iterate later.

Example:

UpLead is ZoomInfo but more affordable and better data.

Signaturely is Docusign but free.

Just do it.

#22 No matter how high your bar is to picking someone to work with, raise it.

The right team can make or break your biz.

Bonus tip:

Hire brilliant people and leave them the fuck alone.

#23 You can start a SaaS for $500.

An API and some code are enough...

A high school kid can do it if he wanted to.

The main problem isn't starting,

The problem is you think starting is harder than it really is.

#24 Fake it till you make it.

When we started Uplead,

I put Google and HubSpot logos on our websites.

Eventually, they ended up becoming our clients.

Also, I created personas on our website that aren't real people. I wanted to make it seem like we had 50 people at the company when it was just me doing everything.

(I didn't want them to think the founder was doing sales, support and everything)

...do this at your own risk.

#25 Everybody's gonna tell you your idea is good. If you really want to see if it's good, ask them for money.

They don't want to lie:

They want you to feel good.

But, you have to draw the line and just ask.

If they buy, you have a client. If they don't you have valuable data

#26 You don't need more than two co-founders.

Start first.

If somebody who aligns with your vision pops up?

Then think about more cofounders...

But you absolutely don't need to be 5 to make it happen.

#27 Nobody's gonna steal your idea.

Don't hide it:

Put it out live.

Fail and iterate in public.

They won't copy you because they're either too swamped or too lazy.

#28 When starting out, just copy the terms and conditions from your competitors.

Once you get big (one or two million in ARR)?

Then hire a great legal team.

#29 Valuations are crazy - you can sell your SaaS for a lot.

Once you start getting up the market, you can sell (easily) for 10x.

If you're doing $5M per year,

You can sell it for $50M.

That's life-changing money.

#30 When starting, worry about handling customers.

The logo, website, legal terms - that can all wait.

Focus on your customers first & the rest will follow.

#31 Paying customer's feedback is worth 10x prospects feedback that aren't paid.

They have skin in the game:

They paid you. They want the product to be better.

The others just want to tell you how to do your job.

#32 Keep a folder with EVERY single testimonial you get.

Then, you can leverage that on the marketing & SEO side and use that as selling points.

Testimonials are everything...

Save them all.

#33 A deal isn't a deal until it's signed on paper.

They can mess you up if you just go via handshakes or emails.

Do it all on paper or digital signatures...

Like Signaturely ;)

#34 SaaS is more about marketing than about coding.

"I can't build a SaaS I'm not a coder"

And?

Coding is part of it but marketing is all of it.

Find someone good and pay them / hire them.

Then get people to pay for it.

#35 Don't do anything unethical.

Bad rep will mess your business up:

Your ethics is all you have in the beginning.

Don't fuck this up.

#36 Raise your fucking prices

Ok this one got a little long - so I'll leave it here.

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